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I have been giving 180mm gyutos as gift to relatives and female friends. All have been received very favorably. Most seems to transition from rocking to push cutting rather quickly, the height (37-38mm) offers enough clearance, and the pointy tip allows for tip work.

I never understood the fad for a santoku. Too flat a profile, not easy to work with the tip. I wonder if people like it for the name more than function. There is guy in Washington state who named his "Japanese" line of knives, Santoku Line.

180mm gyuto in AEB-L with a custom heat treatment will offer you the top notch sharpness and edge retention, ease of maintenance (touch ups on 8K diamond plate between sharpening can extend time between sharpening to a several months), plus being stainless is a great thing for folks who are not used to carbon knives.

In general, I like to keep things simple. I don't see the point of super wear resistant steels for a home kitchen. Simple but good steels (suitable for kitchen knives), practical profiles (all lengh of the knife - tip, middle, heel, can be used effectively) ease of maintenance and ease of sharpening that results in a long life of a knife - is my philosophy.

M

This sounds fantastic. I've been looking for something to wean my wife off her 6" Wusthof chef for months. I've considered a range of deeper 150-160mm petties (Asai, Masakage, both around 34mm), a Carter Funayuki, and some smaller gyutos -- but the petties are really not great on a board, the perfect Carter is a bit scarce, and most of the shorter gyutos are still too blocky/fat. 38mm is really perfect, and I'd rather stick with a good stainless for this one.

In a Western handle, Hattori has made a 150mmx35mm gyuto, though I haven't seen them available anytime recently. There's also an Akifusa 180mmx39mm gyuto with a nice slim profile and good steel. I think an Akifusa is at the top of my list, though now that I know Marko can do a custom....

How many people who are recommending santokus, have actually used them (besides the members who clearly wrote that they or their wife/partner have used them)? I'm curious because I've used a few and don't think there's any advantage to getting a santoku over a gyuto. Personally, I think the worst design characteristic of the santoku is the tip; you can't see it very well.

I would recommend a Carter Funayuki since the OP is willing to pay up to $300. They are short at that price, but they flat out cut. I gave one to my ex and it made cooking so much more enjoyable for her. It's light, stiff, feels durable when used, great for cutting everything, a good height and needs only minimal maintenance. The White #1 also sharpens up quickly, although it doesn't keep an edge that long.

I am 5'10" and use 180mm gyuto every day when I cook for myself only. When I cook a for several people, I use 225mm gyuto for all prep work. Rarely I reach for 240mm or 270mm these days. I find 180mm just a perfect knife for small cutting task (Thanks to Steve Cipcich for enlightening me on this).

I don't want to sound overly opinionated, but from a maker's perspective and heavy home user (and I use my knives and know how to evaluate them), santoku is a product of marketing, rather than design - height, profile, tip all are off. It's basically a nakiri with a dropped spine and slightly raised tip. Gyuto's tip positioned much higher, and the resulting profile therefore is different. On thing you can't do with santoku is to rock cut effectively, while you can do it even with a flat-profile gyuto.

Anyway, take my advice for whatever it is worth.

M

"All beauty that has no foundation in use, soon grows distasteful and needs continuous replacement with something new." The Shakers' saying.

The lines between santoku and gyuto profiles have really been blured.
In the sense of the original sabtoku designes, what you're saying may ne true, but I have seen plenty of santokus with profiles of that work fine and where perhaps even designed for rock chopping (the op's shun being one of them).
I've also seen plenty of gyutos with very flat dead spots near the heel that make the dreaded "clunk" if you bring the heal all the way down.

I think that you are over generalizing.
I also think that low tips can be just as easy to use if not easier.